All workshop recordings will be made available a few hours after the completion of the session on our YouTube channel.
Climate Optimism
An interview with Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, who led the Paris Climate Accord process, recorded expressly for the Forum. Christiana and Tom are also co-founders of GlobalOptimism.com, co-authors of the book, The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, and co-hosts of the podcast called Outrage + Optimism.
Monday, November 9th
Sustainable Urban Transitions: Calibrating Policy Across Scales
9:00 AM - 10:15 AM EST
Professor Edgar Pieterse, South African Research Chair in Urban Policy & Director of the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town
Mr. Anton Cartwright, Researcher at African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town
The session will frame how key global policy agreements (SDGs, IPCC 1.5 degree report and the New Urban Agenda) align to create a framework for action at the intersection of urbanisation and climate change. The imagined and potential role of National Urban Policies will be explored to demonstrate current debates to mainstream climate change action in national level policies that in turn can shape powerful macro-economic priorities. However, international and national policy advancements are dependent on radical and persistent work at the grassroots and in cities through a combination of prefigurative experiments and razor-sharp advocacy.
How to solve the Climate Emergency
Katherine Richardson, Professor in Biological Oceanography, Globe Institute and Leader of the Sustainability Science Centre, University of Copenhagen, Co-author 2019 UN Global Sustainable Development Report.
Daniel Kammen, Professor and Chair, Energy and Resources Group, Professor, Goldman School of Public Policy, Professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Former Science Envoy, US Department of State
While there is no single solution to climate change, there are diverse actions that we can take as individuals, institutions, corporations, and public institutions that – together – can control the human effects on climate. This session will examine: 1) the latest data on the climate emergency and the damage to ecosystems; and, 2) the solutions that are under discussion in by scientific, policy and corporate communities. The session will focus on the interdependencies in ecological and human networks, and the role of social justice in achieving climate solutions.
Tuesday, November 10th
Climate Change Begins at Home
Dave Reay, University of Edinburgh
How can you make a difference on climate change? Isn't tackling climate change all about actions by government and big business? In this session we'll look at the role of individual action on climate change, its importance, mechanisms and obstacles.
Food loss and waste: A climate threat!
Yolanda Kakabadse, Former Minister of Environment of Ecuador a d Former President of WWF-International
About one third of all food produced is lost or wasted. This is a threat to water, to energy, to biodiversity, climate, and the economy. Solutions are in the hands of policymakers and every citizen has the capacity to act. We just don’t know enough about the problem.
Carbon Literacy Training: Session 1 of 4
(This session will not be recorded)
Petra Molthan-hill, Faculty Lead, Green Academy, Nottingham Trent University School of Business
This professional development opportunity equips you with the information to teach others about carbon literacy. It provides skills needed to make these high impact changes in your activities to reduce carbon emissions. Additionally, it helps participants identify multiple other benefits such as health issues and inequality. This session is the first in a four-part series. The subsequent sessions will be offered in over the course of several weeks in November and December. Those who participate in all four sessions will be eligible to apply for certificate by The Carbon Literacy Project in Manchester, UK.
Sustaining yourself to create a more sustainable world
Maya Prabhu, M.D., LL.B., Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine
This session will consider how to build resilience in ourselves and our communities as we work on climate issues. A guiding question for the hour will be how can stay grounded and even hopeful even in the face of environmental urgency.
How to Enhance Stewardship for Global Commons in Anthropocene
Naoko Ishii, Director for Center for Global Commons, University of Tokyo
Maria Ivanova, Director for Center for Governance and Sustainability at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
We will review the state of global environment, which is globally shared common resources, to understand what a dangerous situation our humanity is in. Given the fact that the conventional efforts to arrest the downward spiral of degradation is slow, we need to look for a new way of governing global commons. We will review the recent efforts made by multi-stakeholder coalitions including business, governments, academia and CSOs, as well as a newly proposed Global Commons Stewardship Index to measure efforts to protect global commons.
Wednesday, November 11th
Tools and Resources for Effective Negotiation as a Non-State Actor to the UNFCCC
Ms. Melissa Low, Research Scientist, National University of Singapore Energy Studies Institute
The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. Today, it has near-universal membership. Last year, 25,000 people attend the 25th Conference of Parties with the goal of concluding negotiations on the implementation rulebook to the Paris Agreement. This session will discuss how States and Non-State Actors negotiate, and offers useful tips to students on how to harness tools and resources to negotiate and participate at COPs more effectively.
Tactics that Build Power and Scale for the Climate Movement
Carina Barnett-Loro, Deputy Director, Climate Advocacy Lab
Good tactics should flow directly from your campaign's theory of change, strategy, and power-mapping process: what activities will help us strengthen our pathway to influence in this campaign? Great tactics should also help ensure your bold vision for the world is not subject to political winds or the whims of different administrations: even if we lose this campaign, what activities will help us build durable power at scale? During this workshop, you will:
- Learn how to pick tactics that help to build the "critical capacities" of powerful social movements.
- Explore and learn from examples of creative tactics from across the climate community
Brainstorm potential tactics that you might test out in your campaign and what additional skills or resources you would need to implement them
Thursday, November 12th
Carbon Literacy Training: Session 1 of 4
Petra Molthan-hill, Faculty Lead, Green Academy, Nottingham Trent University School of Business
(This session will not be recorded)
This professional development opportunity equips you with the information to teach others about carbon literacy. It provides skills needed to make these high impact changes in your activities to reduce carbon emissions. Additionally, it helps participants identify multiple other benefits such as health issues and inequality. This session is the first in a four-part series. The subsequent sessions will be offered in over the course of several weeks in November and December. Those who participate in all four sessions will be eligible to apply for certificate by The Carbon Literacy Project in Manchester, UK.
A Clean Energy Transition Anchored in Radical Collaboration
Paul Clements-Hunt, Founder/CEO, The Blended Capital Group and former Head UNEP Finance Initiative (2000-2012)
We are unwinding 270 years of a global energy architecture with immense embedded political and economic power. Lobbying, inertia, and populist politics retain the might to throw the Paris Agreement off course. Nothing can be taken for granted despite the upsurge in climate concern including next generation momentum. To end energy poverty and supply the needs of 10 billion by 2100 we need a symphony of systems on-grid, off-grid, distributed, hybrid, and natural. Only radical collaboration, including with forward-acting former fossil fuel giants, will deliver energy for all. Divestment sends useful signals but ultimately will not succeed. The potential re-negotiation of the Antarctic Environmental Protection Treaty (2048) will be one barometer of whether global decarbonization is serious.
The Psychology of Change Management
Dallase Scott, Founder and Principal at Trust for Change
We often undervalue the emotional labor of working with others to creating lasting change. This presentation will look at the process of organizational change from the lens of the psychology of leadership and group dynamics. Outcomes of this presentation include having a better understanding of the barriers to change, underscoring people's natural desire for connection, and reflecting on the constant personal reflection and growth needed to become an effective change agent.
Friday, November 13th
Making Nature Based Solutions work for People and Planet
Wanjira Mathai, VP & Regional Director, WRI Africa, Chair, Wangari Maathai Foundation
Nature Based Solutions, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Inclusion, Women, Local Community Engagement, Youth engagement.
Climate Change, Global Anti-Blackness and Implications for Health
Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, 4th Year Medical student, Yale School of Medicine
This talk will cover U.S. and global environmental and economic policies' impact on environmental health, and their impact on worsening health outcomes across as range of conditions for people across the African Diaspora.